Essential+Agreements+and+Conditions

=Final Draft - Essential Agreements and Essential Conditions =

Essential agreements:

 * We will create a comfortable, non-threatening classroom atmosphere where students feel comfortable taking risks to communicate in the target language.
 * We will use a communicative approach where learners will build upon prior knowledge through meaningful engagement that often extends beyond the classroom.
 * We will converse and instruct in the target language as much as possible in the classroom so that students receive maximum exposure to the language.
 * We will use authentic material to provide a “real to life” experience. This includes what one would find in a country where the target language is spoken, (e.g., music, movies, magazines, news reports, books, food)
 * We will explore our host culture through activities and excursions in order to further insights into the target language and culture.
 * We will use examples within our own culture to gain knowledge and understanding of the culture wherever the target language is spoken.
 * We will use technology for language learning to allow the learner the maximum opportunity to interact within meaning-rich contexts through which they construct and acquire competence in the language.
 * We will connect the target language with other disciplines within the school so that the acquisition of information is inherent to the target language and its cultures.
 * We will demonstrate life-long learning skills by using the language outside of the classroom in real-life situations, not exempting travel to a country where the target language is spoken.


 * Essential Conditions**


 * There is an adequate and consistent allocation of time for academic learning time in global languages in order to implement a well articulated, standards-based, school-wide program
 * Based on the ACTFL standards, optimal time is a 50-minute class each day.
 * Research has shown that during the first two years of language learning, continuity remains important for retention.
 * Surveys of benchmark International schools in Asia support optimal academic learning time for language classes is 50 minutes either each day or on a rotating schedule of 3 out of 4 days.
 * Professional development includes an allocation of resources necessary to visit model programs, and attend conferences or workshops aimed toward the revitalization of the language acquisition educational processes at the classroom level. This also includes support of the use of technology in a global language classroom.
 * There are frequent opportunities for cross-level meeting times on each campus that will be used to share and build a strong language program.

Draft Documents submitted 

Here you will find my proposal for statement of philosophy and essential agreements with an appendix stating the essential conditions necessary to fulfill the essential agreements. These will be up for discussion in August.

  

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